Automatic mechanism for phonographs



June 20, 1950 F. HOLMBERG ETAL 2,511,982

AUTOMATIC MECHANISM FOR PHONOGRAPHS Filed Jan. 3, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 fb 'E HOLMEEEG FOL/(E K 5M0 June 20, 1950 F. HOLMBERG EIAL 2,511,982

AUTOMATIC MECHANISM FOR PHONOGRAPHS Filed Jan. 3, .1945 3 Sheets-$heet 2 W I vI ZIie Holmfierg Follie lr zem June 1950 F. HOLMBERG ET AL 2,511,982

AUTOMATIC MECHANISM FOR PHONOGRAPHS Filed Jan. 3, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 F/EIZ.

1%; KEHOL MBEEG fZJLKE KYLE/W0 Patented June 20, 1950 I AUTOMATIC MECHANISM FOR PHONOGRAPHS Folke Holmberg and Folke Kylemo, Motala, Sweden, assignors to Industriaktiebolaget Luxor, Motala, Sweden, a corporation of Sweden Application January 3, 1945, Serial No. 571,152 In Sweden December 14, 1943 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires December 14, 1963 The present invention refers to magazine phonographs provided with automatic record changing devices, wherein a stack of records to be played is supported on a central post extending upright from the centre of the turn-table,

the record being held in a certain suitable, horizontal position by means of a laterally swingable arm, which normally assumes a position above the stack for steadying the latter, and which, when inoperative, may be swung out laterally beyond the periphery of the stack.

In such phonographs the arm is swung out into inoperative position when new records are to be placed onto their support and when records played are to be removed.

It is often desirous that such phonographs may be used as ordinary phonographs without automatic changing devices 8. g. when playing 3 Claims. (01. 274-) special records, such as home-recorded records and the like. It has therefore beenusual to provide automatic phonographs with a manipulating member by means of which the whole of the automatic mechanism may be rendered inoperative.

In order that the phonograph may conven- I erate with mechanisms for rendering the recordchanging mechanism of the phonograph and other automatic parts inoperative, said mechanism being such that the record changing device and its cooperating elements are rendered inoperative when the arm is swung out from its normal or operative position to its inoperative position, but rendered operative again when the arm is swung from inoperative position to operative position. So that the invention easily may be understood and readily put into efiect a preferred embodiment thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan-view of a phonograph record player and changer according to the invention,

Fig. 2 is a side view of the device of Figure 1, showing parts more fully illustrated and described in our copending application Serial No. 571,151 of even date.

Figure 3 is an enlarged side view partly in section of a record steadying arm and associated mechanism.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary bottom view, of the record changing mechanism beneath the base plate.

In the drawings l designates a base plate adapted to support a phonograph. Over the base plate is a turn-table 2 mounted on a hollow journal 15. Inside the hollow journal is a post 9 the upper portion of which protrudes above the turn-table 2. The upper end of the post9 takes the form of a ledge ll adapted to support a stack of records to be played. The records in the stack are threaded onto a post II! which is an eccentric upward extension of the post 9. By means of elements provided in the interior of the post 9 the lowermost record of the stack supported by the ledge Il may be displaced laterally and thereby be caused to slip off the ledge H and down the pin 9, finally to descend onto the turn-table 2 where it is played in the usual manner.

When the stack of records rests on the ledge II it is steadied from above by two arms 5 and 6 which are provided with rollers 33, 34 and 35 of rubber or similar suitable material.

The arms 5 and 6 are rotatably mounted in an arm 4 and linked together by means of a, rod 2!. The rod 2! is actuated in such a manner by a spiral spring 36, that the rollers 33, 34 and 35 are caused resiliently to engage the stack of records and hold the latter horizontal.

The arm 4 is rotatably mounted On a vertical pintle 23 which is rigidly mounted in a standard 3 fastened in the base plate I of the phonograph. The arm 4 may assume an operative position, in which it is over the turn-table 2, and in which the arms 5 and 6 exercise abalancing pressure on the stack of records, or it may assume an inoperative position in which it is swung beyond the turn-table 2. The arms 5 and 6 are connected with such contrivances as will, first, prevent the arm 4 from rotating about the pintle 23 when the arms 5 and 6 are in lowered position and pressing against the stack of records, secondly, permit the arm 4 to rotate about the pintle 23 when the arms 5 and 6 are lifted from their lowered position, thirdly, retain the arms 5 and 6 in lifted position when the arm 4 is in its inoperative position, and, iourthly, permit the arms 5 and 6 to be lowered onto the turntable when the arm' 4' is in operative position. These contrivances consist of a plate 29 mounted on a pin 28 by means of which also the rod 2| is connected to the arm 6. When the arm 4 is in inoperative position the plate 29 presses against the periphery of the standard 3 and thereby retains the arms and B in raised position but snaps into a recess in the standard 3 when the arm 4 is brought into operative position, the arms 5 and 5 thereby descending into engagement with the record stack and the arm 4 thereby being locked against rotation about the pintle 23.

Through the standard 3 extends a shaft I81. The shaft I81 is provided at its upper end. with a member 299 which is adapted to cooperate with a pin 219 rigidly fixed in relation to the arm 4. On account thereof the shaft I81 will be rotated on rotation of the arm 4. The shaft 181 is provided at its lower end with a collar 212 on which is secured a pin 214.

When the arm 4 is in operative position, the pin 214 assumes that position shown in Fig. 4. When the arm 4 (not shown in Fig. 3) is rotated to inoperative position, the shaft 181 will rotate clockwise. The pin 214 thereby contacts a surface 215 of an arm 216, which is thereby rotated counter-clockwise about a .pin I09. To the arm 216 is fixed a member 99 to which latter is fixed an arm 94 which will also rotate counter-clockwise about the pin I90 at the same time as the arm 21.6. A pin 93 is provided in the arm 94 and on this pin 93 is a rotatable arm 92. A spiral spring 95 holds the arm 92 in engagement with an adjustable stop member 96 provided on the arm 94. The arm 92 is provided at that end most remote from its pivotal point with a downwardly bent edge portion iill, which may be brought into and. out of engagement with a toothed wheel 85.

Two shafts 8! and 32, one 8! of which is adapted to cooperate with the motor of the phonograph, the other 82 thereof cooperating with the record changing mechanism, may be connected with and disconnected from each other by means of a coupling device, of which the toothed wheel 85 constitutes a part. This coupling device, which is of a type known per se, is constructed in such a way, that the shafts BI and 82 are coupled together when the toothed wheel 85 is not locked against rotation, but uncoupled from each other when the toothed wheel 95 is locked.

In the position shown in Fig. 4 the edge ll of the arm 92 is in engagement with the teeth of the toothed wheel 85, for which reason the wheel is locked and the shafts 8| and S2 uncoupled. When a record changing movement is to commence, the edge i9! is urged (by means not shown) to the right on account of the clockwise rotation of the arm 94 and the member 99 about the pin 199. But when the toothed wheel 85 is no longer locked, the shaft 82 is connected to the shaft 8i, so that the record changing mechanism will then begin to operate. On completion of a record changing process, the member 98 is rotated with the arm 94 back in a counter-clockwise direction, the edge ml of the arm 92 again engaging the toothed wheel 85, the shafts BI and 82 thereby being uncoupled from each other.

If, however, the arm 4 is rotated to its inoperative position, when a record changing operation is to commence, the shaft I81 with the collar 212 will be rotated clockwise through so great an angle from the position shown in Fig. 4, that the pin 214 will engage the surface 215 of the arm 216. On account of this engagement the arm 216 cannot rotate clockwise whereby also the member 99 with the arm 94 is prevented from rotating clockwise from the position shown in the Figure 3.

Under these circumstances the members which normally bring about a, record changing movement are not able to urge the edge ll of the arm 92 to the right, for which reason the shafts BI and 82 cannot be coupled together and no record changing movement can take place.

When the arm 4 is in its inoperative position, the phonograph will thus function as an ordinary phonograph, i. e. without any automatic change of records.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiment described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but includes all variations falling within the scope of the appended claims. It is thus possible to make the movable arm 4 in such a manner that it may engage the upper side of the stack of records direct, and thus render the arms 5 and 6 superfluous.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a phonograph of the type having a turntable, a motor driving said turntable, and a mechanism for feeding records into playing position one at a time from a magazine onto the turn-table, the combination of a central post extending upright from said turn-table, means for magazining records on said post in stacked formation above said turn-table, said means includin an arm normally assuming a position in which it engages the uppermost record in the stack for steadying the latter, said arm being adapted to be swung from its normal position laterally beyond the periphery of the stack to permit records to be threaded on and removed from said post, a driving element driven by said motor, means for coupling said record feeding mechanism of the phonograph to said driving element, and means operable by movements of said arm for controlling said coupling means so as to render said coupling means inoperative when said arm is swung from its normal position.

2. In a phonograph of the type having a turntable, a motor driving said turntable, and a mechanism for feeding records into playing position one at a time from a magazine onto the turn-table, the combination of a central post extending upright from said turn-table, means for magazining records on said post in stacked formation above said turn-table, said means including an arm normally assuming a position in which it engages the uppermost record in the stack for steadying the latter, said arm being adapted to be swung from its normal position laterally beyond the periphery of the stack to permit records to be threaded on and removed from said post, a driving element driven by said motor, means for coupling said record feeding mechanism of the phonograph to said driving element, means for controlling said coupling means, said control means comprising a lever adapted to be swung into one or the other of two positions for renderin said coupling means operative and inoperative respectively, and means operable by said arm when swung from its normal position, for locking said lever in the position effective for rendering said coupling inoperative.

3. In a phonograph of the type having a turntable, a motor driving said turntable, and a mechanism for feeding records into playing positions one at a time from a magazine onto the turntable. the combination of a central post extending upright from said tum-table, means for magazining records on said post in stacked formation above said turn-table said means including an arm normally assuming a position in which it engages the uppermost record in the stack for steadying the latter, said arm being adapted to be swun from its normal position laterally beyond the periphery of the stack to permit records to be threaded on and removed from said post, a driving element driven by said motor, means for coupling said record feeding mechanism of the phonograph to said driving element, means for controlling said coupling means, said control means comprising a lever adapted to be swung into one or the other of two positions for rendering said coupling means operative and inoperative respectively, and means operable by said arm when swung from its normal position for locking said lever in the position efiective for rendering said coupling inoperative, said locking means including a shaft member adapted to be rotated by said arm, a collar on said shaft member and an abutment on said collar, said abutment being adapted to coact with said lever for locking the latter against movement when said arm is swung beyond the periphery of said stack.

FOLKE HOLMBERG. FOLKEI KYLEMO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,966,576 Allen July 17, 1934 2,295,092 Ofien Sept. 8, 1942 

